“All participants are now in listen-only mode,” the operator finally announced, much to the relief of everyone on the call. The call began at 1:07 p.m.

A State Department official told reporters at the end of the call that members of the administration were unable to take questions due technical difficulties.

CBS notes that the White House has previously been ensnared by such AV issues during calls with the press in the past. In 2016, a man interrupted a background conference call about the Obama’s Iran policy by divulging that his “inflatable doll is a lesbian.”

In May, the din of crying babies, coughing, and the melody of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” drowned out a press call with White House budget director Mick Mulvaney about the government spending bill.

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